No. 60 Bulldogs to Face Cornell and Columbia

Apr 09, 2009

April 9, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
The No. 60 Bulldogs (12-5, 2-0 Ivy) will look to improve upon their 2-0 Ivy League record when they travel to face Cornell and No. 57 Columbia this weekend.

Last weekend, Yale swept matches at home against Penn and Princeton. The Bulldogs won both matches 4-3 with the help of strong doubles play. Connor Dawson, Calvin Bennett, and Joel Samaha all won both their singles matches for the weekend.

Two weekends ago, Yale defeated St. John's 5-2. Prior to that, the Bulldogs went 4-2 on the California trip to earn its first national ranking of the season. Yale defeated then No. 64 UC Irvine and current No. 64 Nevada on the trip. Both of the Bulldogs' losses in the Golden State came at the hands of ranked opponents: No. 54 Pacific and No. 62 Utah.

History Lesson
Last season, Yale split its home matches against Columbia and Cornell. Against the Big Red, the Bulldogs pulled out a 4-3 victory. Yale fell in a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Lions of Columbia last season.

2009 ScheduleYale's 2009 schedule includes a trip to the west coast during spring break. During this trip, the Bulldogs will face three ranked teams. Yale will battle No. 62 UC Santa Barbara, No. 63 UC Irvine, and No. 66 Utah. Also on their schedule, the Bulldogs will face No. 69 Furman and No. 48 Harvard.

Nine Returning PlayersNine players return from last year's squad, led by senior captain Jeff Dawson. Dawson had an impressive fall, advancing to the semifinals at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships at Cullman-Heyman. His younger brother, junior Connor Dawson, added to the family's list of accomplishments by winning the Connecticut State Championship in singles and doubles (with sophomore Calvin Bennett).

Also returning for Yale is senior Michael Caldwell. As a sophomore, Caldwell went 6-1 in Ivy League play at No. 2 singles and earned First Team All-Ivy. Last season, Caldwell split time between No. 1 and No. 2 singles and earned Second Team All-Ivy. Sophomore Jordan Abergel, sophomore Ryan Berman, senior Josh Lederman, senior Tom Santoro, and junior Matt Schimmel are also returning this season for Yale.

Two New AdditionsThe Bulldogs have added freshman Joel Samaha and freshman Erik Blumenkranz to the nine returning players from last season. From Tampa, Fla., the 6'6" Samaha will be an instant contributor to the Bulldogs this spring. Blumenkranz, the Portola Valley, Calif. native, also will be play a big role in Yale's spring season this year.